Report: Netflix ‘Would Lose 57 Percent of Their Subscribers If They Added Commercials’

Netflix has several major advantages over traditional cable channels including a boatload of capital to spend on an endless spray of original programming, and the ability to watch all its programming at any time from any number of devices — phone, laptop, television, watch, and pretty soon brain implants (I’m guessing). It’s possible though that its single biggest advantage is one that often gets overlooked: Netflix has no commercials.

A new study by the marketing technology firm Audience Project (via netimperative) says that if Netflix ever added commercials, they should expect to see a massive drop in subscribers (at least in the United Kingdom, where the survey was based):

The majority (57%) of UK customers would stop watching Netflix if commercials were introduced, and even lowering subscriptions would cause a significant drop off of 42%, according to new research.

I’ve noticed the impact of no commercials on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and other streaming services on my young children, who have no concept of television outside of these apps and therefore have basically never seen ads in their entire lives. On the rare occasions when they have to watch commercials — if we’re visiting family and they put their cable television on to Nickelodeon or something — they are totally baffled. “Why did PJ Masks stop?” It’s pretty wild.

As a result of this sort of study, I certainly would be surprised if Netflix suddenly decided to add commercials. Nobody wants to lose 57 percent of their customers. Plus my kids would be outraged.

Gallery — The Best Netflix Original Television Shows and Movies, Ranked: